Takeo: The three-day River Festival 2025 (Mar. 21-23) in Takeo province attracted a total of 358,994 local people and national and international tourists, according to a report of the Takeo Provincial Tourism Department.

According to Agence Kampuchea Presse, of the registered number, 1,028 were foreign visitors, while the rest, 357,966 were national tourists and local people. Some 101,627 tourists and local people were counted on Mar. 21; 108,300 on Mar. 22, and 149,067 on Mar. 23, the report added.

Held this year under the theme ‘The Value of River – Linking Culture and Natural Tourism,’ the River Festival featured many programs, including art performances and concerts, tourism and trade exhibitions, sports activities, martial arts competitions, floating and sky lanterns, and a firework display.

The River Festival aims to further promote the tourism potential of the provinces along the river as well as to encourage the participation of local people in sustainable tourism development. River Festival is organised every year on a rotation basis by the riparian provinces, with the first event organised in Kratie in 2015.

The event continued in various provinces, including Stung Treng, Kampong Cham, Thbong Khmum, Kandal, Kampong Chhnang, and Battambang, before being suspended for two years due to the COVID-19 spread. After the pandemic crisis was under control, the Royal Government of Cambodia decided to organise the seventh River Festival in 2023 in Kampong Thom province and the eighth in 2024 in Siem Reap province.